![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/life\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/bf4d83b313fc96915964ba41f622989f2f8ec4c95bee96988f4e730f99936ee1-300x200.jpg\")
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2025 was the year I chose Reclaim \u2014 and while it didn\u2019t look the way I originally imagined, it mattered more than I realized at the time.<\/p>\n
This year wasn\u2019t about massive growth or loud wins. It was about taking pieces of myself back after years of survival, caretaking, loss, and emotional shutdown. I began reclaiming my time, my boundaries, my energy, and my right to pause \u2014 even when the world expected me to keep pushing.<\/p>\n
Health became a central theme in ways I didn\u2019t anticipate. Systemic inflammation, pain, fatigue, and uncertainty forced me to slow down and listen to my body instead of overriding it. That was hard. Frustrating. But necessary. Reclaiming my health didn\u2019t mean fixing everything \u2014 it meant finally acknowledging that something was really wrong and committing to finding answers.<\/p>\n
Creatively and professionally, 2025 was uneven. I showed up when I could, canceled when I needed to, and wrestled with guilt, fear, and the urge to stay small. I began recognizing how past trauma \u2014 especially a significant loss in 2022 \u2014 still shaped how open I felt about being visible. Naming that was part of reclaiming myself, even when it was uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Personally, this year carried deep transitions. Becoming an empty nester with my husband. Watching our children build lives and start families of their own. Preparing to welcome our fourth grandchild \u2014 a girl.<\/p>\n
This season also created space for Jeff and me \u2014 traveling together for his work when I am able to, sharing quieter moments, and being more present with each other without the constant pull of parenting demands.<\/p>\n
Reclaiming quiet.
\nReclaiming rest.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t reclaim everything in one year \u2014 and I\u2019m learning that I was never meant to. What I did reclaim was awareness, honesty, and permission: permission to slow down, to feel, to stop pretending I\u2019m fine when I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n
2025 taught me that reclaiming isn\u2019t dramatic.
\nIt\u2019s quiet.
\nIt\u2019s internal.
\nIt\u2019s choosing not to abandon myself anymore.<\/p>\n
As I look toward 2026, I haven\u2019t chosen my next word yet \u2014 and that\u2019s okay. Some things aren\u2019t meant to be forced. I trust that it will reveal itself when the time is right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2025 was the year I chose Reclaim \u2014 and while it didn\u2019t look the way I originally imagined, it mattered more than I realized at the time. This year wasn\u2019t about massive growth or loud wins. It was about taking pieces of myself back after years of survival, caretaking, loss, and emotional shutdown. I began … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-of-the-year"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843\/revisions\/862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jeniferbenner.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}